Results 1-20 of 2,815 for speaker:Tony Killeen

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (22 Apr 2004)

Tony Killeen: Several issues are being confused in the discussion of the Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004. That is not to say the issues are entirely unconnected but the manner in which they are being intermingled does not serve to clarify the principal issue being addressed in the proposal. The core issue, the entitlement to citizenship, is frequently overlooked in the debate in...

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (22 Apr 2004)

Tony Killeen: Concerns regarding the Good Friday Agreement merit careful consideration. We must remember that the proposed provision amends Article 9 of the Constitution and not Article 2. I am confident, arising from the legal advice given to the Government, the Northern Ireland Office and the Government at Westminster, that the amendment has no implications for the Agreement. It is important that we be...

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (22 Apr 2004)

Tony Killeen: There is a significant advantage in holding the constitutional referendum on the same day as the local elections. This will ensure a large turnout. It would be a pity if the referendum were held on its own and attracted a turnout of 25% or 30%. I know what Deputy McCormack means when he speaks of the pressure exerted on candidates in the last week. However, I believe the pressure exerted on...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (5 Oct 2004)

Tony Killeen: The Health and Safety Authority is actively working to implement the Government decision on decentralisation. An implementation team reports directly to the chief executive and progress is reported to the board of the authority on a regular basis. Staff have been briefed on the government decision and discussions have commenced with the staff unions through the authority's industrial...

Written Answers — Job Initiative: Job Initiative (5 Oct 2004)

Tony Killeen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 247 to 249, inclusive, together. The jobs initiative programme is a work experience programme for persons 35 years of age or older who have been unemployed for five years or longer. Participants are offered temporary full-time employment for a period of three years. The fundamental objective of the programme is to prepare participants to progress into...

Written Answers — Severance Payments: Severance Payments (12 Oct 2004)

Tony Killeen: The position is that nothing further can be done regarding enhanced statutory redundancy payments for the workers concerned. I, like my predecessor, am bound by the legal advice that was to the effect that no retrospection would be possible. This follows from the principle established by the courts that the Legislature cannot impose retrospective financial obligations on the employers or...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (12 Oct 2004)

Tony Killeen: A total allocation of €351 million is being provided in 2004 to support up to 25,000 places across the three FÁS employment schemes — community employment, job initiative and the social economy programme. Of this, €42.5 million is earmarked for the social economy programme. This compares with funding of €20.5 million in 2002 and €36 million in 2003.

Written Answers — Hazardous Substances: Hazardous Substances (12 Oct 2004)

Tony Killeen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 59 together. The following table provides the list of establishments that have been notified to the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, as coming within the scope of the European Communities (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) Regulations 2000. It also indicates their tier status; 1 for upper tier, 2 for lower tier. A number...

Written Answers — Working Conditions: Working Conditions (2 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The Central Statistics Office quarterly national household survey estimates that 30,370 work days were lost in 2002 due to breathing or lung problems and that 8,810 work days were lost due to skin problems. The survey does not have a breakdown of days lost due to the specific matters referred to in the question.

Seanad: Job Losses. (9 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: I thank the Senator for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I am conscious of the adverse effects on workers in the Ballinasloe area of job losses over the past year, including the recent announcement by Dubarry Shoes Limited of its decision to cease manufacturing at its Ballinasloe plant during November 2004 and transfer this production element to the company's manufacturing partners...

Community Employment Schemes. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: Following his recent appointment, the Minister reviewed the policy on the operation of the FÁS employment schemes, which comprise community employment, job initiative, and social economy programmes. In undertaking this review, he took fully into account the views and concerns expressed by various interest groups and other key stakeholders, including the social partners. On foot of this...

Community Employment Schemes. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The most recent figures available are participation levels as of 24 September 2004. There were 20,643 places on community employment, 1,994 on job initiative and 2,189 on social economy. The budget for this year was of the order of €351 million.

Community Employment Schemes. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: Two points about community employment schemes were that there were specific difficulties regarding people aged over 55 years, and the review findings and the Minister's announcement address that difficulty. They also go some way to address the second difficulty about which individual schemes complained, namely, that they had great difficulty in recruiting participants and schemes frequently...

Community Employment Schemes. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: It is certainly not the kind of information specifically available to me at this stage. I will see if it is available and if it is, I will make it available to the Deputy.

Employment Legislation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The Whistleblowers Protection Bill 1999 was a Private Members Bill introduced in the Dáil by Deputy Pat Rabbitte on 15 June 1999. The purpose of the Bill is to provide protection from civil liability to employees who make certain disclosures "reasonably and in good faith" regarding the conduct of the business and affairs of their employers. The Bill aims at prohibiting employers penalising...

Employment Legislation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The Government has taken the view that a sectoral approach is likely to be the more successful in this instance. I referred to the Labour Party Bill because it is the legislation that is de facto currently before the House and was examined at considerable length by Parliamentary Counsel on how it might be amended. The view was ultimately taken that a sectoral approach was likely to be...

Employment Legislation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: I acknowledge the value attached to having effective legislation in this area, as does the Government. In the legislation to be discussed on Committee Stage next week, I am pleased we will be having a sectoral approach, which we believe will be effective. I will certainly raise the issues with the Minister that were presented by the Deputy.

Job Creation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: Support for job creation and investment on a regional or local basis is a day-to-day operational matter for the industrial development agencies. The agencies are actively promoting all areas, including County Mayo, for new investment and jobs on an ongoing basis. The number of jobs in IDA Ireland client companies in Mayo has increased from 3,170 in 1998 to 3,468 in 2003. The number of jobs in...

Job Creation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: The Deputy should acknowledge that the percentage of this country's jobs created in the BMW region increased from 25% to 48% over the period of the plan, which is a little more than half-way through. It will be possible to achieve a much better spread if the agencies continue to pursue the policies they are pursuing at present. There is a fairly widespread understanding of the need to spread...

Job Creation. (16 Nov 2004)

Tony Killeen: I will undertake to raise the matter with the relevant Minister.